|
|
THE FORT DEARBORN MASSACRE
Perhaps one of the most brutal events in all of Chicago history took
place when the city was only beginning. The terrible incident has become
known as the Fort Dearborn Massacre and memories of it still linger in the
city today in both Chicago's history -- and its ghosts! |
|
|
EIGHTY ACRES OF HELL
The Confederate Prison of Camp Douglas ---
Camp Douglas, located on the south side of Chicago, became a place of
brutal misery to many Confederate prisoners during the Civil War. Rumors
of crowded and unhealthy conditions, along with death and disease, were
widely circulated in the southern press during the war. The camp soon
earned what many people would consider a fitting nickname... “Eighty
Acres of Hell”. |
|
 |
THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE
The city's greatest disaster! What happened and how did it change
the face of the city forever?
Also, follow this link to discover the story of the
Water Tower's Ghost!
|
According the legend, the Great Chicago Fire was started by a cow that
belonged to an Irishwoman named Catherine O’Leary. Regardless of how the fire started though, on Sunday
evening, October 8, 1871, Chicago became a city in flames. |
 |
|
|
|
OTHER CHICAGO FIRES
The tragic fires of the Iroquois Theater, Our Lady of Angels School
& Others --
While the Great Chicago Fire was the most famous blaze in the city’s
history, it was certainly not the deadliest... nor, some might say, was
it the most heartbreakingly tragic. In this section, we’ll take a look
at some of the city’s other terrible fires. |
|
 |
THE EASTLAND DISASTER
The downing of the ship and the ghosts of Harpo Studios --
One of the most devastating, and haunting, tragedies to strike Chicago
would be the capsizing of the EASTLAND steamer on July 24, 1915, between
the Clark and LaSalle Street bridges. |
|
|
THE HAYMARKET SQUARE RIOT
Unrest among Laborers leads to death and violence in Chicago --
In the years after the Great Chicago Fire, wealth and prosperity returned
to Chicago, but according to many reformers and activists, that wealth
remained in the hands of the privileged few. Strikes and protests had
become commonplace by the time of the Haymarket Square Riot in 1886, but
this event would change the face of the labor movement forever. |
|
|
THE MURDER CASTLE
HH Holmes, Herman Mudgett & America's First Serial Killer --
Read an exclusive book excerpt from Troy Taylor's HAUNTED CHICAGO
about the mysterious killer, his depraved "Murder Castle" and the
Columbian Exposition of 1893. |
|
|
|
|
THE "HOUSE OF WEIRD
DEATH"
The Strange stories of the Wynekoop Mansion --
The Wynekoop Mansion was
destroyed many years ago, but its memory and reputation still lingers
today... best remembered for its notorious nickname, “The House of Weird
Death”. (Pictured Police Captain John Stege) |
 |
LEOPOLD & LOEB
Chicago's own "Thrill Killers" --
On an afternoon in May 1924, the sons of two of Chicago’s wealthiest
and most illustrious families drove to the Harvard School for boys
in Kenwood and kidnapped a young boy named Bobby Franks. They
planned the "perfect crime" -- but as it turned out, it was far from
perfect. |
|
|
 |
CUSTOM HOUSE PLACE LEVEE
DISTRICT
Chicago's "Printer's Row" was once home to every sort of vice
imaginable -- and then some!
From even the early days, Chicago thrived on its reputation for being a
“wide-open town”. The Custom House vice district sprang from the ashes of
the Great Fire. For nearly 30 years, the area would be regarded as a
blight on the downtown area. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
THE
SAUSAGE VAT MURDER
Adolph Luetgert and a ghost from one of Chicago's Most Horrible Crimes!
The ghost of Louisa Luetgert still
walks the now almost deserted neighborhood where her home once stood -- Killed by her own husband in one of the most
grisly ways imaginable, her ghost not only haunts this place but the legends
say that she hounded her treacherous husband -- from
Joliet Prison to the grave! |
 |
JOHN WAYNE GACY
The Twisted Crimes of the "Killer Clown" and the
supernatural elements surrounding his crimes |
BORN TO RAISE HELL
The Horrific Life & Crimes of Richard Speck |
|
|
 |
|
| |
|
